"Vaccines May Need to Be Taken for Another 10 Years... COVID-19 Expected to Persist for at Least 5 Years"

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] It is projected that COVID-19 will remain a threatening condition for at least the next five years and that diagnostic testing or vaccination may be necessary for the next ten years.

According to The Guardian and The Times on the 5th (local time), a report released on the 3rd by the UK government advisory panel predicted that it will take at least five years for COVID-19 to settle into a predictable endemic (periodic epidemic) state.

This report was prepared by SPI-M (Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling), the advisory panel that provides scientific modeling results related to COVID-19 to the UK government, before the Omicron variant was officially announced, so the Omicron variant was not considered.

The panel stated, "Active management of COVID-19 is very likely to be continuously required from a long-term perspective," adding, "How much intervention measures such as vaccines or booster shots will be needed over the next 5 to 10 years will be determined by unknown requirements that are not yet known."

Coincidentally, the recent discovery of the Omicron variant, which corresponds to the "unknown requirements," is seen to increase the likelihood of delaying the end of the pandemic.

Earlier, on the 2nd, the UK government disclosed the contents of an emergency meeting convened with experts in response to the Omicron variant. Although data on the Omicron variant is limited, experts said, "This variant has high transmissibility and may weaken vaccine effectiveness."

Separately, Jeremy Farrar, a senior figure in the UK scientific community and director of the Wellcome Trust, said the emergence of Omicron "shows that we are closer to the beginning than the end of the pandemic," expressing concern that the progress made to overcome the pandemic could be undone.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Farrar, who left the government pandemic advisory panel last month and is a senior figure in the UK scientific community, predicted that current vaccines could prevent severe illness from the Omicron variant but expressed concern that future variants may not respond similarly to vaccines.

He said, "As this virus continues to spread mainly among the unvaccinated population worldwide, the likelihood of variants that can neutralize vaccines and treatments increases," adding, "If this scenario materializes, we will almost return to square one."

He also pointed out, "The government's reluctance to genuinely resolve unequal access to vaccines, testing, and treatments, and this lack of political leadership, is prolonging the pandemic," adding, "There have only been flashy rhetoric but no actions to ensure equitable access and end the pandemic."

He advised that the measures to be taken in the current situation include wearing masks indoors, increasing testing, social distancing, isolation upon confirmation, and vaccination.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.